ISIS chief in Afghanistan killed in April raid, US military says

FOX NEWS - The head of ISIS in Afghanistan was killed in a raid by U.S. and Afghan forces last month that also resulted in the death of two American soliders, the military said Sunday.

A statement by U.S. Forces, Afghanistan confirmed that Sheikh Abdul Hasib, described as the Emir of ISIS in the Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), was killed in the April 27 raid in southern Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan.

The raid that killed Hasib was carried out in the same area where the U.S. dropped the so-called "Mother of all Bombs" last month.

The Pentagon said that more than 50 U.S. Army Rangers and dozens of other partnered Afghan forces battled ISIS for over three hours in the mountain terrain. Two of the Rangers were killed and a third was wounded. Defense officials told Fox News that friendly fire was the suspected cause of the Rangers' deaths.

Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said Hasib's death marked "another important step in our relentless campaign to defeat ISIS-K in 2017."

"This is the second ISIS-K emir we have killed in nine months, along with dozens of their leaders and hundreds of their fighters," Nicholson added. "For more than two years, ISIS-K has waged a barbaric campaign of death, torture and violence against the Afghan people, especially those in southern Nangarhar."